RoboCup 2002

German university students Marcus Liwicki, left, and Sven Behnke of Team FU-Fighters make minor adjustments to their middle-size soccer robot in preparation for competition.

German university students Marcus Liwicki, left, and Sven Behnke of Team FU-Fighters make minor adjustments to their middle-size soccer robot in preparation for competition. (AP Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi)

Scenes from RoboCup 2002 in Fukuoka, Japan. The sixth annual competition, held June 19-25, attracted 193 teams from 30 countries. This year's contest featured the first competitions for humanoid robots. Humanoids competed in three events: a walking race, a penalty shoot-out and a free style performance.